


A New Arrival

by Archergirl



Series: Amaranthe and Sicarius, their future lives together [2]
Category: The Emperor's Edge Series - Lindsay Buroker
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-19 07:02:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20327047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Archergirl/pseuds/Archergirl
Summary: Amaranthe and Sicarius are expecting a new arrival, but all isn`t going well.





	1. So Much Blood

**Author's Note:**

> This is written entirely in my favourite assassins POV

Sicarius felt confused, out of control and frustrated. These emotions were as foreign to him as the alien technology would be to the aborigines that Amaranthe and he had encountered during their travels to some isolated islands. One moment he was holding Amaranthe’s hand and she was talking to him, even though her face was a rictus of pain and a sheen of sweat covered her forehead. The next moment her eyes rolled back into her head and she lost consciousness. The room they were in bustled with activity, but Sicarius only saw Amaranthe. He wanted to kill someone, threaten someone, make someone fix her. He strode up to the man in the white coat. “Save her.” He ordered, his voice menacing, his glare could have frozen a volcano. 

The man in the white coat looked at Sicarius. He abruptly turned his back on him and yelled to the crowded room, “Someone get the father out of here.” The room fell silent and no one made a move. “Well?” Yelled the man again, “Take him outside.” 

A plump older woman stepped up to the man in white. “Do you know who he is?” She whispered, indicating Sicarius.

“Yes, he is the man who is getting in my way and preventing me from saving his wife and baby. Now get him the slag out of my delivery room.” The doctor fumed.

The nurse stepped forward as if to touch Sicarius´s arm and was frozen in her tracks by his glower. “Please sir,” She said calmly and quietly. “If you will just follow me and allow us to try to save her.”

Sicarius felt his heart racing with adrenaline, he looked at Amaranthe, lying there on the table, she was so pale that she almost didn´t look Turgonian anymore. He wanted to take out his black dagger and slit the throat of the enemy that was killing her, but there wasn´t any corporeal enemy that he could slay. He could have screamed in frustration. 

The nurse cleared her throat and said again, “Please, sir.” And indicated the door.

He allowed her to lead him out of the room. The door closed behind him, but he could still hear everything that was happening inside. He heard the doctor say, “We´re losing her, prepare for an emergency section now!” 

The nurse tried to show him to the waiting room with its imperial gray painted walls and its hard wooden chairs but he turned his icy gaze on her. “I will stand guard here.” He declared in his usual monotone, put his back against the wall near the delivery room door and crossed his arms over his chest, discouraging any further argument.

The nurse nodded and said, “I will let you know as soon as there is any news to report.” She hustled back into the delivery room without waiting for a response.

Sicarius heard the doctor inside exclaim “Dear ancestors, what happened to this woman? Was she mauled by a bear?”

A woman’s voice answered. “I think I read in her chart that it was a makarovi.”

“Bloody balls, this scar tissue is going to be a nightmare to cut through.” The surgeon complained.

Sicarius winced thinking of how he had failed to protect Amaranthe from the makarovi attack all those years ago at the dam. If he had been faster, stronger, she might not be having complications from her injuries now. What if they couldn´t get through the scars in time to save her, or the baby? He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and when he looked at his hand, he noticed it was red with blood. Her blood. In his former line of work as the Emperor´s personal assassin he had seen more blood than a butcher, and it had never bothered him. He had been desensitized to blood and death as a small child. 

But this was different. This was Amaranthe´s blood. This was the blood that was keeping her and the baby – their baby alive. An hour ago – was it only an hour ago? It seemed so much longer, Amaranthe had started having contractions early, over a month early and then suddenly there was so much blood, on her, the floor, everywhere. He had picked her up in his arms and run with her all the way to the closest hospital. And now she lay dying.

A thought occurred to him. Did she need blood? He would give her every drop in his body if it would save her. As soon as he saw the nurse again, he would ask her. 

Neither of them had trusted imperial – republic medicine and they had planned to have a Kyattese healer with them when the time came for the birth. With six more weeks to go, they had planned for the practitioner to come in four weeks, in case the baby came a couple of weeks early. No one could have anticipated this complication.

He looked at his bloody hands again. It was probably all over his shirt and trousers, but the black hid it well. He was torn with wanting to wash the blood off his hands, not wanting the reminder of what was happening inside that room, and wanting to leave it, in case this was the last part of her that he would ever see.

He needed to get a hold of his emotions. He felt like he was spiralling out of control and he hated that feeling. He closed his eyes and took some deep, slow breaths like the mage hunter that Commander of the Armies Hollowcrest had kidnapped for his training had taught him. He forced his mind to slow down, and began thinking back, to what had started them on this path to today


	2. Special Tea

They were on a mission to Nuria. Travelling on the submarine that President Starcrest had given them as a wedding present. The trip from Turgonia to Nuria was long but Sicarius had never minded long journeys. He was content to be in the submarine, safe, with Amaranthe, and didn´t feel the need to speak much. Just having her there with him was enough. She, however, did like to fill the long days of silence with chatter. At least she didn´t expect him to answer her every time she spoke and seemed content to just talk by herself with little input from him. 

This trip however, she seemed different. She was quieter, less bubbly, less Amaranthe. He also noticed a change in her scent. It wasn´t unpleasant, it was just – different. He worried that she was becoming ill and insisted that she eat his travel bars to give her extra iron and vitamins. His lips pulled slightly up at the corners, remembering how much she hated those bars. Sicarius bars, she called them, and complained about how horrible the organ meat, which was the main ingredient, tasted. But the bars had never made her physically sick before. This time, however, every time she ate one, she couldn´t keep it down. Sicarius had decided to stop at one of the islands on the way to Nuria and see if the natives were advanced enough to have a healer, although he didn´t expect that they would be.

She had just finished being sick again and was lying in the bed located in the back of the submarine. He had lain down next to her and was holding her in his arms brushing her damp hair from her forehead and noticing how pale she was. She closed her eyes and nestled into his chest. “Sicarius.” She began. “I think I know why I am so sick.”

Fear constricted his chest, making it hard to breathe. “You do?” he murmured as calmly as he could, kissing her forehead, her skin feeling cool to his lips. “You don´t think you were poisoned at that last port, do you?” The idea of her being poisoned by a slow acting agent in the middle of the ocean made his heart race.

She raised her face to his without lifting her head from his chest. She smiled wanly at him, “No, I don´t think it´s poison, but I do think that it is your fault.”

His fault? He couldn´t fathom what she meant by that and started thinking back to everything that they had done in the week since she had fallen ill. “Are you referring to my travel bars? I assure you they are safe and have a long shelf life.” He couldn´t think of anything else she could be referring to.

“Do you remember what happened three weeks ago?” She asked him mysteriously.

“Of course, we were set upon by pirates after stopping for supplies at Azmet Island.”

“And did we lose most of our supplies in the ensuing battle?” She asked.

He was feeling more perplexed and thought that maybe her illness was affecting her memory as well as her stomach. “Affirmative.” He stated.

“Well my special tea was amongst those supplies that we lost, and do you remember how we celebrated our victory over the pirates?” Still with her face raised to his, she lifted both eyebrows to her hairline.

Understanding suddenly dawned on Sicarius. “You aren´t poisoned, you´re pregnant.” He said with a hint of surprised realization in his tone.

Amaranthe nodded. “And it is your fault.” She continued. “If you hadn´t torn your shirt fighting the pirates and then had to take it off and stand there all glistening and wet with your sword in your hand, looking like a golden Turgonian god with your muscles on display, then I wouldn´t have felt the need to celebrate with you that night without my tea.”

Sicarius was unable to maintain his emotionless mask in the face of her statement. He smiled down at her. “Golden Turgonian god?” He echoed. “Don´t you know that we Turgonians are atheists?”

Amaranthe smirked at him. “Yes, well I couldn´t think of any other word to describe you. I know none of my ancestors looked anything like you after a battle.”

Sicarius tightened his arms around her and put one hand under her chin, lifting it up and inclining his head to kiss her lips. “We are going to have a baby.” He said wondrously.

Amaranthe sighed deeply. “Let´s just savour this feeling for now before we have to tell Tikaya that one of her agents is going to be out of commission for a while.”

“Agreed.” Sicarius sat up and took off his shirt. He laid back down next to her and asked, “Do I look like a Turgonian god now?” He quirked an eyebrow at her.

Amaranthe laughed and rolled on top of him. “Indeed.”


	3. Nurian Mission

By the time they reached Nuria two weeks later, Amaranthe´s morning sickness had almost disappeared. They had decided to hold off telling Tikaya about the pregnancy until they finished their mission. Initially, Sicarius had agreed with that plan, but what he hadn´t counted on was how ultra-protective he would feel about Amaranthe. This wasn´t his first time being a father, but he had been fifteen years old when he had impregnated Princess Marathi, Emperor Raumesys´s second wife. She had determined that the emperor was infertile and hadn´t wanted to end up dead like his first wife if she couldn´t produce an heir. Sicarius hadn´t felt anything for Marathi and he had been sent on another mission shortly after her pregnancy was announced in order to redeem himself from his first mission failure in Kyatt with Fleet Admiral Starcrest.

He hadn´t felt protective of her and she had told him to stay away from both her and Sespian after he was born to not draw suspicion upon them. He had complied with her wishes then, but now was different. He had felt protective of Amaranthe for the past four years, since he realized that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but now that she was carrying his child, he wanted to wrap her in blankets and make her stay in bed until the baby was born.

Amaranthe, of course, was having none of it, and insisted that she was fit to fight once she stopped vomiting. At two months, she wasn´t showing at all yet, but just knowing that she had a life that was half his inside her drove him to distraction. Of course, he never shared any of his thoughts with her, and tried to maintain his normal unemotive demeanour. But Amaranthe had always had a knack to see through his mask and read all his thoughts that others found unreadable.

Sicarius tried to tell her to remain behind him at all times on this mission, but she had rolled her eyes, snorted with derision and quickened her pace to jog by his side. Their mission had seemed simple enough. Intercept a message from the Kendorians to the Nurians that Intelligence had determined had something to do with the Kendorians amassing troops on the Western Turgonian border. Shukura, the Kendorian ambassador insisted that it was simply a troop training exercise and nothing hostile, but President Starcrest believed that it had more to do with the Kendorians looking for mountains containing ore so that they could increase their burgeoning metal working manufacturing. Until now, Turgonia had led the world with mundane technology and the Western Sea Conflict 25 years ago had proven that their ironclad ships could withstand any onslaught, even by Nurian warrior mages. 

If the Kendorians were looking to copy Turgonian technology, then they would need a large supply of ore for smelting into metal. Something that they didn´t possess in their lands. Intelligence headquarters suspected that they were going to try to get the Nurians to pledge assistance in their quest in return for some mineral rights. If Amaranthe and Sicarius could intercept the messenger, then it might prove Starcrest´s suspicions true.

The messenger was due to arrive in the Great City on a Kendorian freighter at noon. Amaranthe and Sicarius had arrived in the city the day before and had scouted potential locations to intercept him. At noon Amaranthe was hidden behind a building that the messenger would have to pass on his way to his destination. Sicarius was up on the roof, scouting, prepared to jump down behind him. Amaranthe would step in front of him and stop him, while Sicarius surprised him from the rear. It was a maneuver that they had done many times together. 

At half twelve, the freighter was unloading the crew and the few passengers that had sailed from Kendor. Sicarius saw the messenger and informed Amaranthe to get ready. As the messenger approached, Sicarius got the sensation that he was being watched. He had taken cover behind a water tank on the roof, but his shoulder blades itched with a sixth sense. He dropped from his crouch to his belly, rolling just as an arrow slammed into the water tank behind him. He threw the knife in the direction of his assailant before the arrow had stopped quivering in its target. His throw was true, and the Nurian went down without a sound with the knife in his throat.

Sicarius looked over the lip of the roof and saw Amaranthe, unaware of what had just happened above her, step out in front of the messenger. Sicarius jumped off the roof not behind the messenger, but in front of him, putting himself between him and Amaranthe. The messenger started back in shock, but before he could react Sicarius had grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him around behind Amaranthe. At that moment, a second arrow came flying from the top of another building, aiming for Amaranthe`s back. Instead, it hit the messenger that Sicarius had used as a human shield, killing him instantly. 

Sicarius kept a hold of the dead man, dragging him with them as he backed up pushing Amaranthe behind him. He stopped when they rounded a corner of the building and had cover. He quickly searched the messenger and obtained the missive from Kendor. He tucked it in his pocket, let the dead man fall to the ground and led Amaranthe to a narrow alley between the two buildings. He scanned the rooftops, looking for the second archer, but didn´t see any sign of him. “Stay here.” He signed to Amaranthe, using Basilard’s hand code. She nodded and continued to scan the rooftops as well.

Sicarius slipped out of the alley to search for the bowman. He climbed onto a nearby roof and took cover behind another water tank. He knew the angle of the previous shot that had killed the messenger, but he also knew that the archer was long gone from that spot. He peered over the roof to where he had left Amaranthe and he saw a small movement in the shadows behind her. “Watch out!” He barked while he leaped off the rooftop into the alley. His knife was out before his feet touched the ground. 

Amaranthe heeded his warning and ducked and rolled forward just as the bowman stepped out of the shadows with a knife in his hand. He swung the knife at her, and it whispered past her back as she rolled. She was on her feet in an instant, and crouched low, swept her foot out and caught her assailant´s legs, throwing him backwards. As he flailed, trying to catch his balance, Sicarius landed behind him, grabbed his chin, pulled back and swiped his black dagger across his throat. 

It was a scenario and a kill that he had played out thousands of times in his life. What he didn´t expect was how he felt after killing the man. He felt rage. He had been trained since birth to feel nothing, to be cold as ice. He never showed anger or frustration or any other type of normal human emotion. This massive, hot molten lava feeling of rage took him by surprise. This assassin had tried to kill his wife and their baby. Sicarius wanted to bring him back to life so that he could kill him all over again to satisfy his blood lust at avenging someone who dared to try to kill his family. 

Assuring himself that Amaranthe was unharmed, he left her to scout the area and make sure there weren´t any other threats. He left quickly partly to search and partly so that she wouldn´t see his hands shaking with emotion. Looking at his hands, he felt weak that he had allowed so much feeling to engulf him and break his training. Amaranthe was the one who was pregnant, and she had fought off the attacker exactly as he had taught her to do. She hadn´t appeared overcome with any untoward emotion. He worried that he was going to become the bigger liability during this pregnancy than she. 

Their mission completed, Sicarius was eager to get back to the submarine and leave Nuria behind. They made a quick stop at the Turgonian embassy and filed an encrypted report for headquarters. They then slipped out of the harbour without further incident. Amaranthe had wanted to stock up on supplies before they left, but Sicarius wanted to get her and the baby out of danger as quickly as possible. 

“Why are you in such a rush to leave? Amaranthe asked. 

“The Nurians know that we are here, they will send reinforcements.” Sicarius replied.

“What makes you think that they were specifically targeting us? They may just have sent bodyguards to protect the messenger from any threat.” Amaranthe countered. “Also, this is nothing that we haven´t encountered before, it isn´t like you to want to cut and run.”

Sicarius stared at her in silence. He didn´t want to admit his real reason for wanting to leave Nuria so quickly, worried that she would think him weak.

“Fine.” Amaranthe said in exasperation after enduring a minute of his silence. “But if you think I am going to eat nothing but Sicarius bars from here until we reach Turgonia, you are crazier than my dead deranged ancestors.”

“We can stop in the next town south of here and buy supplies.” Sicarius said flatly.

Amaranthe squinted at him. “Are you sure you´re alright? You seem a little – off.” 

“Off.” Sicarius repeated flatly.

“Yes, off – stranger than usual, not yourself – off.” Amaranthe elaborated.

“I do not feel unwell.” Sicarius stated. 

“Well, I am happy to hear that. Maybe I`m imagining it.” Amaranthe said while studying his face carefully.

“Perhaps.” Sicarius answered. He hated lying to her, especially because she had the ability to look within his soul and know what he was feeling. But he hadn´t yet come to grips with what he was feeling himself.


	4. Tikaya Lays Down the Law

Upon their return to Turgonia, they reported into Intelligence Headquarters at Montechelu Manor. Tikaya had already decrypted the message that they intercepted in Nuria and it confirmed that the Kendorians wanted to recruit the Nurians to help them take over the western ore filled mountains from Turgonia. Starcrest had sent troops to protect the border before Sicarius and Amaranthe had left Nurian shores.

Together, they knocked on Tikaya Komitopis´s door. As chief of Intelligence as well as President Starcrest´s Kyattese wife, she was Amaranthe and Sicarius´s boss. 

“Come in.” They heard her call.

They opened the door and went inside. Tikaya was at her desk leafing through the dozens of papers covering it. 

“Ah, just the people I wanted to see.” Tikaya exclaimed. “How did it go in Nuria? Any problems?”

“Oh, the usual, arrows flying, dodging knife wielding assassins, nothing that we couldn´t handle.” Said Amaranthe breezily. 

Sicarius said nothing, looking stonily at Tikaya.

“Well, good to hear it.” Tikaya looked down at some papers, shuffled some more, found one that interested her and held it up. “I have another assignment for you two. This time in Kendor.”

Sicarius looked at Amaranthe and she met his gaze. “Uhm, before we accept our next assignment, I – we have something to tell you.” Amaranthe began.

“Nothing bad, I hope.” Said Tikaya.

“No, no, well, I hope you won´t think that it is bad”. Amaranthe said. “While we were on our way to Nuria I, well, we discovered that I am pregnant.”

“Pregnant?” Stated Tikaya. “Wait, you found out you were pregnant on your way to Nuria and are only telling me now?” She stared from Amaranthe to Sicarius. “Were there really arrows and knives involved in your mission?”

“Uhm, yes?” Said Amaranthe sheepishly. 

“You could have been seriously hurt, or even killed.” 

“We can be seriously hurt or killed on every mission.” Retorted Amaranthe.

“Yes, but you´re not pregnant on every mission.” Countered Tikaya. Looking at Sicarius, “Are you content with her risking her life while expecting?”

“No.” He said harshly.

Amaranthe looked at him curiously, surprised at the passion he let slip through in that single word. 

“Right, so from now until your due date you are on desk duty.” Tikaya stated bluntly. “No more dangerous missions for you.”

“But the Kendorians – “Amaranthe started to say.

“The Kendorians are none of your concern. I will send Basilard and Ashara. She is Kendorian and can communicate with them if necessary.” 

Sicarius felt the tension that he didn´t realize he was carrying melt out of his body as soon as Tikaya had ordered Amaranthe to a desk for the duration of her pregnancy. 

“What about Sicarius?” Amaranthe said. “You are not going to send him on missions without me.”

“Amaranthe, I am certain that Sicarius can handle going on missions alone. In fact, I am certain of it, having run into him on one of his solo missions twenty-five years ago.” Tikaya frowned at Sicarius. Even though Amaranthe seemed to have changed him for the better, she would never feel completely comfortable with him. She could never forget the cold emotionless efficiency he had shown when he had been sent to kill Rias and herself as a seventeen-year-old assassin. It was only through ingenuity and Admiral Starcrest´s skill at reading people that they had gotten out of those tunnels without him slitting their throats.

“I know he is beyond capable, but I was thinking more along the lines of me sitting behind a desk, pregnant with his baby and worrying if he is going to come home alive.” Amaranthe explained. 

It hadn´t crossed his mind that she might become more protective of him now that she was pregnant. He wasn´t sure how he felt about that revelation.

“I am sure we can find something for Sicarius to do close to home.” Tikaya stated. “But for now, let’s just worry about you.” She waved her hand at them in dismissal.

Amaranthe nodded her agreement and they left, closing the door behind them.


	5. Waiting for News

The nurse had come out a little while earlier, and Sicarius had asked her if he could give blood for Amaranthe. The nurse had assured him that they had plenty of blood in the hospital, and anyway, they didn’t have time to check if Sicarius’s blood would be compatible with hers. She had told him that they were doing everything they could to save her, but that the situation was critical.

Sicarius was still standing guard by the door a few minutes later when President Starcrest arrived, with Tikaya, Mahliki and Sespian trailing behind his guards. A slight man in a dark suit with glasses and a notebook in hand hurried past Sicarius and started to open the door to where they were operating on Amaranthe. 

Sicarius lunged forward, and quicker than a cobra catching a field mouse, he grabbed the man by the neck, whipped him around and had a knife to his throat before he could cry out.

President Starcrest’s guards were taken by surprise and before they could react Starcrest himself had shouted “Stop!” and laid a staying hand on Sicarius’s knife arm. Sicarius looked from the hand on his arm to the President’s eyes. “Sicarius.” Starcrest said quietly. “Let him go, he’s with me. I need him to go in and do his job.”

Sicarius hesitated a moment, then released the man and removed the knife from his throat. The small man with visibly shaking legs looked like he was about to collapse on the floor. “Go.” Ordered Starcrest. The man took one more terrified look at Sicarius and slowly opened the door, staying as far away from him as he possibly could.

“How did you know we were here?” Sicarius asked woodenly. 

Tikaya spoke up, “Although it isn´t common knowledge, we have installed communication orbs in all of the hospitals in Stumps. The staff are under orders that if they ever have an intelligence agent who is to receive chloroform, they are to inform us so that we can send a scribe.” she nodded towards the door that the small man had entered. “We want one of us to be on hand in case an agent starts to spill state secrets while under anesthesia.”

Sespian walked past Tikaya to his father. He hesitated a moment, then laid his hand on Sicarius´s shoulder. “How is she doing?” He asked softly, his face gentle with concern. 

Sicarius shook his head. “Critical. She started bleeding – all over, and – the makarovi scars - “He cut himself off and ensured his face was masked. He couldn´t allow these people to see his emotions. He couldn´t let them think him weak. 

Mahliki came up to his other side and touched his arm. She remembered his concern for her while on their last mission in Mangdoria, and how Amaranthe had told her he was acting like an overprotective future father-in-law. She wasn´t sure if he was going to become her father-in-law, Sespian certainly hadn´t proposed to her yet, but she had still appreciated his concern and she liked Amaranthe greatly and wouldn´t mind having her for a mother-in-law. 

“Would you like to come and sit with us in the waiting room?” Mahliki asked gently. 

“No.” Sicarius answered without meeting her eyes. “I must stand guard.”

Mahliki made eye contact with Sespian and raised her eyebrows in a silent question. He nodded briefly. These last few years after a very rocky start, he had grown to understand his father more. Reading his horrible childhood training file in Hollowcrest´s office had been enlightening. It had given him a greater understand of why Sicarius acted the way he did. 

“All right,” Sespian replied. “We will be waiting over there if you need anything.” He squeezed his father´s shoulder and held his gaze for a moment. He nodded Mahliki towards the waiting room and took her hand as she walked away from Sicarius.

Starcrest approached Sicarius. He laid a hand on one of Sicarius´s stiffly crossed arms, leaned in towards him, and quietly said. “You know if you need anything, son, you have the entire republic at your disposal.” The look Starcrest directed at Sicarius held nothing but concern and care. 

Sicarius had swallowed hard when he heard Starcrest call him son. He had never told him his silly boyhood fantasy that maybe the famous Fleet Admiral Sashka Federias Starcrest was actually his father. Although he knew that his real father had been a sergeant working under Starcrest, the word still drove a pang into his heart.

He straightened slightly. “Yes, sir.” He wanted to be able to say more. He longed that he could tell him how he was feeling. That he wished the might of the republic could save Amaranthe and their baby, but the stiff yes, sir was the only thing that came out of his mouth. If they survived this, how was he going to be a loving father to their child if he couldn´t show any feelings? He felt like a failure as a father already.

Starcrest informed him that he had to get back for meetings, but that the others would keep him apprised of the situation. 

Tikaya´s guards brought them some tea to the waiting room, and they settled in for a long wait. Sicarius remained by the door with his arms crossed over his chest as before but allowed his mind to wander back to a few months ago….


	6. Daggers and Swords and Knives, Oh My

Amaranthe was seven months along, and Maldynado had been fussing around her like a broody hen with chicks. As soon as they had broken the news of the impending new arrival to him, he had taken Amaranthe under his wing and decided that he would ensure that they were well prepared for the birth. He had insisted upon going shopping with her for maternity clothes, stating that fashionable mothers gave birth to fashionable children. Amaranthe had gone along with his plans, more to make him happy than her. 

Sespian had been coming to their flat for two weeks now, painting a mural of flowers, butterflies and baby deer coming out of a forest on the nursery´s walls. He was at least a talented an artist as his father, and the woodland creatures appeared to come alive on the walls. 

Maldynado had commissioned a crib and had sarcastically asked her if Sicarius wanted a mobile of throwing knives and daggers hanging above the baby´s head.

“Maldynado, you are incorrigible.” Laughed Amaranthe. “I was hoping we could avoid the throwing knives until the child is at least four.”

“Do you really think he will wait that long?” Maldynado asked. “I just hope he doesn´t liquify one of his horrible organ surprise bars and try to slip it into the baby´s bottle. With Sicarius as a father I am sure that the little one will be learning reading, writing and throat slitting 101 before he can walk.”

Sicarius, who had come up silently behind Maldynado, laid a hand on the base of his neck. “Throat slitting is in my advanced course.” He spoke quietly into Maldynado’s ear. 

Maldynado shrieked and jumped a full meter sideways, landing in a crouch. “Damn your catlike ancestors!” he cried. 

Sicarius calmly walked over to where Amaranthe was sitting and bent to give her a kiss. She returned the kiss, then swatted him on the arm with a laugh. “You are incorrigible, as well.” She informed him. He rubbed her swollen belly tenderly and straightened, turning to face Maldynado. 

“Well, now that my heart has left my throat and returned to its rightful place, I think it’s time to go.” Maldynado was still clutching his chest.

“Hmm.” Stated Sicarius.

Maldynado blew Amaranthe a kiss as he was walking to the door. “Take care of yourself with that one, Ammy.” He warned with a smile as he left the flat.

“Ugh.” Amaranthe said suddenly. 

Sicarius immediately knelt by her side. “Are you unwell?” He asked. 

“No.” she smiled and grabbed his hand, placing it on her abdomen. “I don´t know if it is a boy or a girl, but I wish it wasn´t already wearing combat boots.”

Sicarius suddenly felt the sharp kick through her stomach. Even though he had felt it earlier in her pregnancy, the sensation never failed to fill him with wonder and awe at the life that they had made together and how strong the baby was. He had never been able to experience this with Sespian´s mother.

“Ahh.” Amaranthe groaned. “There is no doubt that this is your baby, Sicarius. No normal baby would be agile enough to kick me and punch me at the same time.”

Sicarius kissed her belly. “Sorry about that.” He smiled up at her. 

She grabbed both of his hands and pulled them to her lips to kiss, then stopped suddenly with his hands to her mouth, wrinkling her nose and frowning. “Why do your hands smell like cinnamon, apples and sugar?” Her eyes opened wide. “Did you stop by Curries Bakery on the way home?”

“Perhaps.” He said coyly. 

“You absolutely wonderful man!” She exclaimed. “I have been craving an apple cinnamon stuffed Emperor´s Bun all day.”

He smiled at her and produced a wax coated bag with some grease stains on the bottom. He presented it to her. Amaranthe grabbed the bag and pulled out the sweet. She took a bite and closed her eyes with bliss. Although he didn´t understand her need for sweet, unhealthy foods, since she had been pregnant, he had been more indulgent of her cravings.

“You do realize that all this will stop once the baby is born and we resume your training regimen.” Sicarius stated sternly. 

Amaranthe opened one eye and looked at him. “Yes, yes, but let me enjoy it now while it lasts.” She closed her eye again and smiled while she chewed.


	7. She is Agile

The surgeon came out of the delivery room. It was a different doctor than the one who had been attending to Amaranthe when she first arrived. “Which one of you is the father?” He asked to everyone present. All eyes turned to Sicarius standing next to the door. The surgeon´s white shirt and trousers were covered in blood. Sicarius felt his heart stop when the man turned to address him. He was certain he was going to tell him that Amaranthe was dead. 

“Well.” He began. “It was a very difficult delivery. We ran into all sorts of complications, not the least of all the massive amounts of old scar tissue from some animal attack.” He eyed Sicarius, as if looking for answers as to what had happened to Amaranthe. Sicarius remained as motionless as a statue and said nothing.

The surgeon ran his hand through his hair wearily. “She died on the table.” Sicarius felt all the blood drain out of his head and pool at his feet. His world had just come to an end. “Three times.” The doctor continued. “But we managed to get her back every time.” 

Sicarius couldn´t speak or move. He was barely breathing. He felt like he was frozen in some horrible tableau. 

“It was touch and go for a while, but we managed to deliver the baby and save the mother. They are both resting in their room now.” The doctor finished saying. He waited for Sicarius to say something, but he remained as silent as the grave. The doctor glanced questioningly at the others who had come out of the waiting room and were standing in a semi-circle around him.

“Can he go in and see her now?” Sespian asked, realizing that his father was unable to communicate at this moment.

“Yes.” The doctor still looked curiously at Sicarius. “She is very weak, and needs her rest, but a short visit would be alright. She probably will be happy to see you.” He looked dubious at that last statement, staring at the silent black-clad man with blood on his face and hands before him. He had bulges around his shirt that could have been hidden weapons. He looked like death standing. 

Sespian approached Sicarius. “You might want to wash her blood off of yourself before you go and see her.” He whispered, looking at him with concern in his eyes. 

Sicarius looked at his son. “Yes.” Was all he could say. He allowed Sespian to show him to the washroom and he looked at himself in the mirror as he washed her blood into the basin. He looked terrible. Get a hold of yourself, he admonished himself silently, she is still alive. He finished cleaning up and went to her room.

Amaranthe lay in bed with the baby sleeping in her arms next to her. Amaranthe´s face was as pale as the pillow her head lay upon, but she was alive, and awake. She looked up as Sicarius entered the room. She smiled wanly at the sight of him and reached towards him with one hand. He strode over to the bed and took her offered hand. He dropped to one knee by the side of the bed and stared at her and the baby. 

“I thought you were going to die.” He struggled to keep his voice monotone, but it threatened to break on the last word. 

“Me too.” She said softly. “How did I get to the hospital?” 

“I picked you up and ran.” He replied.

“Good thing you have been keeping up with your training and haven´t let yourself become indolent during my pregnancy.”

He snorted softly. “I would never allow myself to become indolent.”

She smiled fondly at him. “Do you want to hold our daughter?” She queried. She looked down at the sleeping baby and then up at him expectantly.

Sicarius suddenly felt nervous. The baby was so tiny, having been born at 34 weeks, she was the size of a wolf pup. What did he know about holding babies? He had never gotten the opportunity to hold Sespian when he was a baby. 

A memory of him killing the Mangdorian royal family´s two young sons and taking their heads when he was nineteen years old suddenly came unbidden into his mind. He had killed children. What if he hurt her? How could one with so much blood on his hands hold something so small and innocent?

Amaranthe saw his hesitation. She guessed what he must be thinking and waited patiently for him to come to a decision. The baby abruptly opened her eyes and looked at him. She didn´t cry, just stared quietly into his face. Sicarius noted with a start that her eyes were green, not brown like most Turgonians. Her head was covered with a knit cap to keep her warm, so he couldn´t see what her hair looked like. 

“What colour is her hair?” He finally asked. Still not making a move to touch her.

“Blonde, like her father.” Amaranthe said.

The baby made a small gurgling sound and reached both arms up towards Sicarius, all the while keeping her eyes fixed on his.

“I think she wants to get to know you.” Amaranthe breathed. 

Sicarius´s eyes flicked nervously to Amaranthe. She gave him tired smile and an encouraging nod. This was only the second time in her life that she had seen him nervous. The first was on the top of a cliff in the early dawn´s light when he proposed marriage to her.

Carefully, as if he was removing an unstable blasting stick from the area, he reached out to pick up the baby. He slid his arms under her, and she cooed when he moved her. He stopped instantly at the sound, as if he had somehow hurt her. Amaranthe smiled encouragingly again and said. “Just make sure you support her head.”

He slipped his hand behind her head and lifted her into his arms. She felt like she weighed nothing. He cradled her against his chest. She raised her arms again and tried to grasp his face. He abruptly realized that he had been holding his breath and let out a soft exhale. The baby burped in response. He looked at Amaranthe, but she had closed her eyes and relaxed in the bed. He couldn´t believe that she felt comfortable enough to sleep with him holding the baby. He stood slowly, still treating her as if she was a bomb that might go off at any time and walked with her in his arms to the window. The sun was just coming up over the lake, and the sunrise´s soft light made the baby´s translucent skin glow. She had emulated her mother and closed her eyes as well. Apparently, she also felt comfortable enough in his arms to sleep. 

He looked down at the little sleeping bundle in his arms and felt a wetness on his cheeks. At first, he was confused by the sensation, but then he realized that they were tears. His tears. He hadn´t felt any tears in his eyes since the day he almost killed Amaranthe on Darkcrest Isle when he was possessed by the spirit of Azon Amar. Even then, he hadn´t allowed them to fall and Amaranthe had never known how close he had come to breaking down in front of her. He glanced at the bed, but Amaranthe was still sleeping quietly. Instead of fighting the tears, he relaxed and allowed them to course down his cheeks. He had never felt an emotion this strong in his life. He looked down at his daughter and saw that she had woken up. She reached out to his face again with her tiny hands and touched the wet tears on his cheeks. She looked into his eyes and held his gaze steadily. He allowed himself to fall into the deep green of her eyes and knew in that moment that he would give his life to protect her.

“I am your father.” He whispered to the baby. “And I will kill anyone who tries to hurt you.” He promised her. 

She cooed contentedly at him and grabbed her foot and tried to insert it into her mouth. He smiled down at her. “Your mother´s right. You are agile. I can´t wait to start training you.”

“Did I just hear you say that you want to start training our daughter who isn´t even an hour old yet?” Amaranthe admonished from the bed. 

Sicarius surreptitiously wiped the tears from his face before he turned around to face her. “You can never start training too soon.” He said in his usual deadpan. 

A few hours later, all their friends had left after visiting with Amaranthe and the baby. They were finally alone. 

“Have you given any thought about what we are going to call her?” Amaranthe asked. They had agreed not to decide on a name until they had seen the baby. 

“No.” Sicarius said. “I thought you would name her. You´re the creative one.”

Amaranthe smiled up at him from the bed. “Well, I have actually been thinking about names.”

“You, thinking? Never.” Said Sicarius raising an eyebrow at her. 

“I was thinking of naming her after her grandmothers.” Amaranthe ignored his comment. 

Sicarius tilted his head slightly. “Her grandmothers?” He asked curiously.

“Yes, you know Sespian has been looking into your background.”

He knew that Sespian had been curious as to his heritage, but he had never asked him what he had discovered. He knew his parents were dead and he didn´t need to know any more.

“We know that your father was Sergeant Paloic, who served under Starcrest.” Amaranthe began.

Sicarius nodded. Books had told him that his father had come to Hollowcrest´s attention when Starcrest had recommended him for promotion to officer. He was forced to impregnate a Kyattese woman and ultimately committed suicide. He also knew his mother had been killed on Hollowcrest´s order after he was born.

“Sespian has been investigating your mother. We knew she was a Kyattese ambassador, but apparently she was also a brilliant professor, with degrees in engineering and architecture.” Amaranthe continued.

“Architecture.” Sicarius realized that was where Sespian had inherited his ability.

“Yes, her name was Professor Anelahni Palakiko. Amaranthe stated. “And my mother´s name was Kayla. I thought we could combine the two and come up with a new name.”

Sicarius puzzled over how to combine a name as foreign as Anelahni, but was sure that if anyone could do it, Amaranthe could. “What is your solution?” He asked.

“Anneka.” 

“Anneka.” Sicarius repeated. He looked at the baby nestled in Amaranthe´s arms, having her first meal since coming into the world. “What do you think, Anneka? Do you like being named for your grandmothers?”

Amaranthe looked at Sicarius in surprise. It was so out of character for him to speak unguarded like that to anyone, even a baby. 

“She, like everyone else, agrees that her mother´s ideas, although at times reckless, do have merit.” Sicarius said with no hint of sarcasm. 

Amaranthe grinned at Sicarius. “Reckless?” she asked. “More like brilliant.” 

Her belly full of milk, the baby had fallen asleep contentedly at her breast. 

Sicarius sat on the bed next to Amaranthe and gathered her and little Anneka in his arms. He had never felt so content in his life. He kissed them both and sighed happily. 

Amaranthe sighed as well. “Do you want to stay here snuggled together, or go home and begin our lives as a family?”

“Yes.” Said Sicarius with a glint in his eye.


End file.
